Portrush

Portrush Harbour c.1900

Portrush Chapel, Ireland (1850)[5]

A number of flint tools found during the late 19th century show that the site of Portrush was occupied during the "Larnian" (late Irish Mesolithic) period;[6] recent estimates date this to around 4000 BC.[7]

The site of Portrush, with its excellent natural defences, probably became a permanent settlement around the 12th or 13th century. A church is known to have existed on Ramore Head at this time, but no part of it now survives. From the records of the papal taxation of 1306, the Portrush church – and by extension the village – appears to have been reasonably wealthy. The promontory also held two castles, at varying periods. The first of these, Caisleán an Teenie, is believed to have been at the tip of Ramore Head, and probably destroyed in the late 16th century; the other, Portrush Castle, may have been built around the time of the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century. Nothing survives of either castle.[8]

Following the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the mid-17th century, Portrush became a small fishing town. It grew heavily in the 19th century as a tourist destination, following the opening of the Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Portrush Junction Railway in 1855, and by the turn of the 20th century had become one of the major resort towns of Ireland, with a number of large hotels and boarding houses including the prominent Northern Counties Hotel. As well as the town's beaches and the Royal Portrush Golf Club (opened 1888), the nearby Giant's Causeway was a popular tourist destination, with the Giant's Causeway Tramway – at the time, one of the world's longest electrified railways – built in 1893 to cater to travellers coming from Portrush.[9]

The town's fortunes peaked in the late 19th and early 20th century, and declined after the Second World War with the growth of foreign travel. It escaped any involvement in the Troubles until 3 August 1976, when a series of bombings of properties burned out and destroyed several buildings, though with no loss of life.[10] In a second attack in April 1987, two officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were shot in the back by the Provisional Irish Republican Army while on foot patrol on Main Street.[11]

Portrush has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).

Portrush's West Strand Beach.

Portrush shops

Portrush Town Hall

• Attractions in the town include the "Coastal Zone" (formerly the Portrush Countryside Centre),[18] Waterworld swimming complex, and, on the edge of town, the links of the Royal Portrush Golf Club, which hosted the 1951 British Open golf championship, and Ballyreagh Golf Course. The Open next returned to Portrush in July 2019.[19]
• For the 2019 Open, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews invested significant funds in the region to improve the rail service and worked with the club to modify the course so it could better host a modern major championship. The 2019 championship had the largest advance ticket sales of any Open ever held.[20]
• There are two long sandy beaches in the resort: West and East Strand. White Rocks and Curran Strand stretch on from the East Strand and are backed by dunes. The coast continues past Dunluce Castle to the Giant's Causeway. It was once possible to travel to these attractions from Portrush on the Giant's Causeway Tramway). “To the People of the Sea”, a 13 ft (4 m) high bronze sculpture on the East Strand, inspired by the sails of local traditional boats, is by Cork-based sculptor Holger Lönze.[21]
• Portrush is home to one of Northern Ireland's best known nightclubs. The nightclub Lush! was immortalised by CJ Agnelli of Agnelli & Nelson and Col Hamilton with one of their first releases, titled "Lush", and the later remixes, "Lush Gold".[22]
• Portrush is also home to Barry's Amusements (now Curry's Amusements), the largest amusement park in Northern Ireland. Actor James Nesbitt once worked there. The park was put up for sale as a potential development site in May 2021, and reopened as Curry's in May 2022.[23][24]
• The Skerries, a series of small rocky islets just off the coast, are an important habitat for several species, some unique to Northern Ireland.[25]
• Portrush Town Hall which was completed in 1872.[26]

Portrush hosts an annual air show at the beginning of September.[27]

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution raft race is am annual event in which contestants must build a raft that can take them from the West Strand beach into Portrush Harbour. The event has been featured on Northern Ireland news broadcasts on several years and is a great credit to the RNLI's popularity locally.[28]

The North West 200 is a motorcycle road race following the triangular route around Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush. Held every May, with events in various engine categories, it attracts crowds in excess of 150,000.[29]

A panorama of Portrush

The following schools are in Portrush:[30]

• Portrush Primary School: a primary school with a nursery unit on Crocnamac Road. The school educates around 250 pupils aged 4–11. Portrush Primary was established in 1959.
• Carnalridge Primary School.
• Mill Strand Integrated Primary School.
• St. Patricks Primary School.

The Northern Ireland Milk Cup uses Parker Avenue in Portrush as one of the pitches for the tournament, and many teams stay within the town itself.[31]

Portrush railway station was opened on 4 December 1855 and closed for goods traffic on 20 September 1954. The station is the last stop on the Coleraine-Portrush railway line, where travellers can connect with trains to Derry, Belfast and beyond.

Portrush is a busy seaside resort, with a frequent train service run by Northern Ireland Railways connecting with Ulsterbus services linking to Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway.[32]

RNLI lifeboats have operated out of Portrush Harbour since 1860, and currently stationed there are the Severn class William Gordon Burr and the D-class inshore vessel David Roulston.[33]

• Fred Daly (1911–1990) – golfer, winner of the 1947 Open Championship
• Gregory Gray (1959–2019) – musician, also known as Paul Lerwill and Mary Cigarettes.
• Mark Ashton (1960–1987) – LGBT activist, lived in Portrush[34]
• Darren Clarke (born 1968) – professional golfer, winner of the 2011 The Open Championship, lives in Portrush.
• Graeme McDowell (born 1979) – professional golfer who was the first Irishman to win the U.S. Open, grew up in Portrush.

• List of RNLI stations
• List of localities in Northern Ireland by population

• Abdelmonem, M.G. Portrush: Architecture for the North Irish Coast. Ulster Tattler Group. ISBN 978-0-9504092-1-4.
• Deane, Ciarán (1994). The Guinness Book of Irish Facts & Feats. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-793-2.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Portrush.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portrush.

• "Portrush" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). 1911.
• Local Secrets on Things to do in Portrush – A list of the big attractions in Portrush, plus some local secrets to share. Specialist local information for lovers of golf, walking, fishing, riding and surfing.
• Visit Portrush – Local guide to Portrush, featuring info on accommodation, activities, places to eat, services and travel.
• Landscapes Unlocked – Aerial footage from the BBC Sky High series explaining the physical, social and economic geography of Northern Ireland.
• ‘To the People of the Sea’ – Information on and images of the public sculpture on East Strand: three 13 ft high Drontheim yawl sails in bronze.
• Portrush on the Culture Northern Ireland website.